Georgia Peach haiku

boiled peanuts, okra;
the whole wide world in a bite
of fresh Georgia peach

Post Script: Special thanks to my step-dad — well, I call him Daddy. But some call him George, and some call him Robbie, and some call him Big Daddy, and Liz calls him Sweet Lou — for carting us around Georgia and South Carolina the last few summers. This year he took us to this little roadside stand for fresh watermelon, okra, corn, figs, peaches and boiled peanuts.

He also came to meet Liz at the airport with Mom and me, gave her a big hug when she arrived from Atlanta, and another one when she got on the plane to fly back to Minneapolis. I hope he knows how much I appreciate his kindness, his big heart, and the way he drove Liz, Mom, and me around so that Liz could see and hear about my old childhood haunts. (This is one of those cases where 1000 words of history from my parents is worth more than a single photograph.)

After Daddy left to drive to Tennessee for the funeral of his brother, and then on to Pennsylvania to help take care of my brother, Mom and I stayed on a while longer. We took one more late afternoon trip to the roadside stand the night before we left, and bought fresh boiled peanuts to cart back to my brothers, sister, and sister-in-law in Pennsylvania.

While Mom tasted a fresh fig, the feisty Korean woman who runs the stand with her husband told me that for the last two or three decades she has farmed the land and made the South her home. She loves it there. And forever her home it will be.

These peaches look like I could pick one off the screen and eat it. Such a great shot. Hey, I didn’t know figs grew in Atlanta. Figs are one of my favorite fruits. I understand they can also grow pretty well here, if sheltered in a courtyard or next to a house.

“Daddy” sounds like he has a big heart. Does he call you “Shug”?

Em is learning the order in which states became states, and it surprised me to learn (or re-learn, I guess—no, actually, I’m not smarter than a 5th grader) that Georgia was #4. I thought all those New England states had a lock on being the first in the union.

QM, what a lovely post! The post script is the icing on the cake. Daddy is quite a remarkable man & I hope he gets a chance to read this. It would make his day! How sweet & true the words you have written about him are. D

Teri, thanks. I know you’ve been traveling around down there. Hope you got to taste the peaches. You had a good day for your drive north yesterday. Though today is a little gray and rainy.

goddess, lotus, and Bo, thanks. Nothing like those Georgia peaches. They are so messy to eat, too. And like bananas, at least for me, they have to be at a certain stage of ripeness for me to really enjoy them. If they are overripe, they have a certain texture I don’t like.

breathepeace, thanks. Snippets of family, what was going on when I took the photograph — I like adding those little pieces without having to do a full piece. Maybe I’ll start doing more of that. I was missing family this week and since I live a ways away, it’s good to be able to write about connections here.

Scot, yes, those roadside signs for boiled peanuts everywhere. They are only in season for a certain amount of time though. And to get them fresh, boiling hot, right out of the caldron is the best experience. You can also get them frozen and in convenience stores down there. But I love finding the little stands along the road where they are boiling them fresh. I guess it’s getting harder and harder to find those little stands. And Daddy said they are more prevalent in S.C. these days than in Georgia.

ybonesy, yep, he calls me Shug. I just love that. 8) My relationship with him has gone through many changes the last few years, very healing. There was a period of time in my adult life where I had little contact with him — a lot of feelings from the past, things that needed to be worked through.

It has been so healing for me to spend time with him (and with him and Mom — before a few summers ago, she had not seen him in about 40 years) and to hear them talk about their history together which makes up a big part of my childhood. I really appreciate their openness and willingness to share with me.

If we live long enough and open our hearts to move through hurt and painful feelings, a lot of healing can take place. I should also add that he had never met Liz before this trip. It was so wonderful for me that he showed up to welcome her to the South. And to the family!

diddy, thanks. I hope he gets to read it, too. I know he checks in once in a while. Or if not, he will surely find himself again in the memoir writings. 8) Of course, these are all things I’ve told him in person, too. But as ybonesy said on comment 8 in her piece Remembering (LINK)– there is a connection between family members that happens over the blog when we write about our families. It’s different than other connections. Kind of another layer.

You know what really made me miss him this week was that Liz played through the calls on our home answering machine and there he was singing Happy Birthday to me. It was a message from this summer. I was actually in Georgia during my birthday and saw him that day (it was also the day Liz flew into Augusta). Then I had this birthday message on the machine when I got home. Of course, we had to save it. It makes both of us smile!

QM, yes, I totally agree! I have a certain ripeness I can handle with bananas especially. I like it sprinkled with a few black dots for the banana. If it gets too much more than that, it’s too ripe and gooey for me. LOL

Oh, good. I’m glad I’m not the only one that has an innate Texture Alert on fruits and vegetables. 8) When we went to the Fair a few weeks ago with some new friends, I found out one is a natural born baker. She said that for the best banana bread, the bananas have to be to the point where they are pretty black and rotten so that you can get the REAL banana taste mixing with all the ingredients in the bread. Well, I love banana bread….but the thought of those rotting bananas. Ugh!

ybonesy, I forgot to respond to your question in #4. Yes, fig trees grow quite well in Georgia and S.C. Aunt Cassie had a fig tree in her backyard and Mom would pick figs right off the tree to eat. She loves them. Ever since, she has tried to find a fig as good as Aunt Cassie’s. I don’t think she has yet. 8)

BTW, I don’t like fresh figs. But I do like Fig Newtons. I don’t like fresh mushrooms either. But I like the flavor cooked into things. I think it’s the texture of both of those. Not sure.

And Georgia, yeah, I think it was the 13th Colony but the 4th state to ratify the Constitution. The history of the Colonies is kind of fascinating to read about. So many different other countries who were major powers then like Spain, England, France, all vying and fighting for the same land which was already well-established by the Native Americans here. America has a very complex history.

I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has called him that before. The morning he met Liz, Mom, and I at the Augusta airport, we went out to breakfast (Liz didn’t take to the grits but I loved them!). We were talking about all the different names he’s had over his lifetime. He said there’s probably not much he hasn’t been called. 8)

I’m kind of fond of Sweet Lou. That’s what Liz calls him because he really is such a sweet and kind man. And yes, very present and in the moment. When you meet people that are that present to what’s happening right now, it always sticks out. It doesn’t surprise me that he once thought about being a preacher. He’s really got the faith, temperament, and compassion for it.